Olympic Shame as Marker of Total Degradation of Russia

Actually, it's possible to say that Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver ended. Anyway, general team classification will not change - Canada ahead of schedule became the leader, having won first place in it, Germany and the USA follow - here if the Americans will win hockey against the Canadians, Germany will concede them current second place in team classification. Russia is on honourable 11th place - such thing never happened in history of the Russian sports but the prospect is even sadder.

During the late Soviet period Winter Olympic Games almost completely represented rivalry of two super-teams - the USSR and GDR. Others by results did not come even near to the leaders.

1976 year, Innsbruck. The national team of the USSR managed to get record for all history of Winter Games score sum (192) and medals - 27 among which 13 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze. On the second place - sportsmen of GDR - 135 scores and 19 medals (7, 5, 7 accordingly). The Team of the USA took the third place - 73 scores and 10 medals (3, 3, 4).

1980 year, Lake Placid. GDR took the first place in informal team classification - 154,5 scores and 24 medals (10, 7, 7 accordingly). The second place went to the sportsmen of the USSR - 147,5 scores and 22 medals (10, 6, 6). On the third place there was a team of the USA - 99 scores and 12 medals (6, 4, 2).

1984 year, Sarajevo. Sportsmen from the USSR were the first in informal team classification - 167 scores. The second place was occupied by the command of GDR - 165 scores, Finnish sportsmen successfully got the third place. Sportsmen of the USSR received the greatest quantity of medals - 25 (6, 10, 9 accordingly), command of GDR got one medal less - 24 (9, 9, 6). However, command of GDR received the greatest quantity of gold medals. Command of Finland received 13 medals (4, 3, 6).

1988 year, Calgary. Sportsmen of the USSR had following the results of Games the greatest quantity of medals - 29 (11, 9, 9 accordingly) and scores in informal team classification (204,5). On the second place - command of GDR - 25 medals (9, 10, 6) and 173 scores, on the third - Switzerland - 15 medals (5, 5, 5) and 97,5 scores.

As a whole it is clear that it was a question of full and unconditional celebration of socialist (Soviet) system of preparation of sportsmen on the basis of mass going info sports, on the base of worthy quality of life. At that successes of small GDR with population less than 20 million people were even more indicative, than achievements of a superpower of the USSR. Germany was much larger and economically stronger but something didn't work in a qualitative sense and the western Germans were obviously weaker, then eastern despite triple numerical superiority.

Winter Olympic Games of 1992 in Albertville were transitive for us - GDR already united with Germany and acted as uniform command of Germany and the USSR though already formally ceased to exist but uniform team of the CIS took part in Olympic Games. Team superiority was won by sportsmen of the unified Germany - 26 medals (10, 10, 6 accordingly) and 181 scores in informal team classification. Sportsmen of the CIS team were on the second place, they received 23 medals (9, 6, 8) and 163 scores. Those results were quite natural and expected - Germany united efforts, while command of the CIS already had some problems both with preparation and organisation. But it was still uniform Soviet command and the result also was still "Soviet".

Since then the team of the Russian Federation didn't come nearer to the Soviet result. There's no saying about the teams of other former 14 Soviet republics, the start occupying "honourable" places among the African and Asian national teams in team classification in Olympic Games. Russia as the main successor of the USSR tried to portray something and it was successful for some time using old Soviet reserve. But in the process of exhaustion of that reserve the results became more and more modest.

In 1994 year in Lillehammer the Russians took 23 medals (11 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze). Olympians of Norway conceded to the Russians by quantity of gold medals (10), however, outnumbered their silver (11) and bronze (5). The national team of Norway left the Russian team behind on 4 scores in informal team classification (176 and 172 accordingly). Sportsmen of Germany - 24 medals (9, 7, 8) and 161 scores appeared the third. It was the swan song of the former Soviet Olympic team.

1998 year, Nagano. 12 medals of the purest tint in active of Germany, Norway had 10, Russia - 9.

2002 year, Salt Lake City. The Russian team was on the 5th place having kissed up to Germany, Norway, the USA and Canada. The Russian Federation won 16 Olympic medals, from them: 6 - gold, 6 - silver and 4 - bronze.

2006 year, Russia was on the fourth place after Germany, the USA and Austria. The Canadians is on the fifth place having let the Russian Federation got 1 additional gold medal but strongly surpassing it in silver and total number of medals.

So, now the 11^th place in Vancouver.

Whether it is possible to talk about objective laws? Certainly. Certainly, Olympic and other professional competitions -analogue of gladiatorial fights of the present, where there is no place for amateurs. But it's though indirect but objective enough marker of the general development of the country - today only developed enough countries, where everything in general is good can let themselves professional sports - of many kinds. It is possible to look and see correlation between quality of life and lifetime with successes in professional sports. Let's say, such strong modern power as South Korea appeared on a world scene - here you are - it's already on the 5th place in Vancouver though they don't even have snow by our standards.

While Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil and Nigeria have no special successes on Olympic Games though they are big enough. Now let's guess which direction Russia goes - both by Olympic results, quality of life and in general by its place in the world?

What is the forecast? Unfavourable, both in connection to sports and as a whole. After all now our leading sportsmen remain leading as they live and train mainly abroad. Little time will pass and the Russian amateurs will not be recruited for professional sports - for the lack of worthy ones. Whence mass amateur sports in the country where 4 million people really starve and one third - regularly don't get enough to eat? That is we even can't count on export of our muscles.

There are no recipes - our sports officials are not worse or better, than the American or Canadian ones, they can be changed, it is possible to allow them to steal more money and it is possible to deprive them of everything - the situation will not change. It is necessary even to begin not with restoration of system of Children's and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve but with restoration of level and quality of life of the population as a whole. Present power will not succeed in it, it will not because of clear reasons.

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